Out There, There Is Someone Who's Just Like Me.

Worth.

The cellar his father contained him in was like an endless black void. The darkness resembling an all too heavy blanket that took pride in suffocating the lithe frame of the boy inside. Would it consume him whole? Or would it taunt him until his body decided it had enough.

Why was his father so cruel to him?

What made him different from his siblings?

————————————————
The child huddled into the corner couldn't remember the last time he had felt this starved. His brothers would always throw scraps at him and while it was meant to taunt him he was always grateful for the food. Even if it was a small amount. But he hadn't seen his brothers in five days and now that he thinks about it, he hasn't seen much of anyone for the past five days.

They left him.

So he kept his eyes on the door in vain hope that this was just some awful prank they decided to pull on him, but that was always just wishful thinking, they had spoken multiple times in front of him to just up and leave. They never included him in the plans. But as kids do, they hope, and right now it's the only thing that boy can do.

Pathetic.

He can feel his eyes slowly betraying him, but he can't sleep. Not yet. If he does they'll forget to take him with them. They would leave him in this cage to perish. So Vinsmoke Sanji bites down hard on his tongue and lets the mix of pain and iron keep him awake.

Just a little longer.

He could hold on for just a little while longer.

Sanji isn't stupid. He knows they've already left without looking back. He was alone in the same cage his father said would befit a screw up like him. Alone, cold, and scared. No one would come to get him. But alas he is just a child, and as a children do, they hope. He hopes that someone will walk through that door and save him. He doesn't want to die like this.

He doesn't want die at the hands of the person who was supposed to love him.

He doesn't exactly know what he wants. But if living under the sun was a want then it was exactly what he wanted in that moment. He wanted to thrive, to live, to be loved by people that would accept him. So sanji counts down the minutes it'll take for him to finally be put out of his misery.

One.

All Sanji can focus on is his stomach. Something in him is fraying, a tight knot, a familiar knot he knows all too well, one that comes undone under the glue that tries to hold him all together.

He finds his mind has finally registered the blooming pain in his throat, a concentrated pain that could only be described as iron walls closing in on his esophagus.

His vision wavers as he swears he feels a loud ringing noise in his ears as much as he hears it. The ringing was only getting louder every time be tried to get rid of it.

His body always did this, so, why was he protecting a body that did nothing for him?

Two.

It was never this silent in the palace, there was always something going on around him. Whether it was his brothers tormenting him, his sister yelling at him to fight back, or the workers showering him with pity.